Hopefully NOT another standard bumblefoot post

[Enten4life]

Hey everyone. First off, I really only ended up on these forums googling questions, but after being signed up for a short while I must say that this community is one of the most empathetic, caring, helpful groups I've ever been a part of. The knowledge and wisdom on here is wonderful. And everyone seems to be genuinely kind. So Thank you all.

Now onto my hopefully not standard bumblefoot post. the duck you see in my avatar is my sweet, precious Norbie. I incubated her, hatcher her, and raised her as my own. But now some background because the guilt I feel is real. Because she was the only egg that hatched in the clutch I had, she had to spend time at a friends house that had ducks because, frankly, her living in the house wasn't the best thing for her (or us). The chickens we have just didn't accept her so I knew we couldn't integrate. Worst of all, California had a band on getting her a sister or two. Several months later, she was able to come home and she has two duck sisters (and 5 chicken sisters). I noticed the classic bumblefoot lesions not long after she was back, but no major swelling and no changes in behavior. My friend lost her husband (he cleaned the pond)and so I know the pond they have was pretty filthy (visited her 3x a month) so maybe that's where it came from? My concern is that it's been SO long that the plugs will NOT soften and come out, and if they DO, it will be very difficult to warp her little foot. she did NOT appreciate my attempt to do so as practice. So I guess my question really boils down to this:

TL;DR: My duck has at least 5 or 6 lesions of bumblefoot, but no active infection (just a mass with a cap). Vet said that it's not really possible to do anything w/o a surgical procedure because no amount of soaking has done a darn thing yet and it's very difficult to wrap a webbed foot. She's not in pain (seemingly), and waddles and gukgukguks like she always has and I have anti-biotics (to be sure) and an anti-inflammatory. BUT -- Is this something that she can live with if it doesn't get infected again, or does this need to be treated with removal? Thank you all (I can probably get some pics later if that is needed).

 

[Isaac 0]

Good advice from @CoriM.

Your duck has Bumblefoot, but, only two are of concern as of now, and worth treating. General treatment for Bumblefoot consists of soaking the cores in warm Epsom salts for a few days to loosen the core up. Once you have a fairly loose core, try to gently peel it off with a pair of tweezers, using a scalpel if needed to help cut some of the tissue out. If the area starts to bleed, apply pressure until it clots, and continue on. Once you have the whole core out which is basically a bacteria-filled plug, coat the area with an antibacterial ointment or cream, apply gauze around the foot and bandage with vet wrap.

Keep the bandage on, replacing it every few days, until the whole area is healed or subsequent infection may occur. Bumblefoot often occurs because of a poor substrate in the birds living quarters such as pea gravel, mud, concrete, etc. Correct any environmental problems that may predispose them to developing Bumblefoot can be considered just as important as treatment,

 

[CoriM]

I was typing you out a long answer but Isaac O said it perfectly. You can also review lots of past threads on this forum about bumblefoot. I think I've read pretty much most of them and it does help give you an idea. I agree, I would just worry about the two biggest ones. The others will benefit from the soaking, and if you slather a little antibiotic ointment on them as well, no harm done.

 

[CoriM]

If you post pictures that will help you to get the best advice!

 

[CoriM]

It seems like the largest ones at least probably need to be treated? What do you think @Isaac 0 ? I have seen some posts on BYC of people soaking in tricide neo for bumblefoot and I wonder if that would be good here since you're treating several. I have no experience with this treatment myself. I have a pekin who I have been soaking and dealing with a bumble for almost three months - ugh. I don't think it's actively infected, but when a big portion of scab comes off, part of the foot heals and part scabs over again. I've been soaking her once a day and treating and wrapping. I have toyed with the idea of just letting it go and ignoring it, but it does seem to finally be getting better. I wish I could help you out more, but hopefully others on the forum will. I can post some picks of how I wrap her foot though in case that is helpful to you. I will do that later this morning when I work on her.

 

[CoriM]

That's my dog in the crate behind Penny. Everytime I lay out the duck towel she runs in there and waits for a treat. She gets along great with my ducks!

 

[Enten4life]

Thank you SO much for these photos. And I'm glad I'm not the only person with a Pekin allowed in the house at times .

So I should still be protecting her foot with the gauze earlier? Or keep soaking until I see that the plug falls out?

 

[Enten4life]

Isaac - Thank you so much for your response. I have a paver stone patio, and the ducks don't seem to care that it's there so if this is something I Need to block them from using, I did plan on eventually putting up a gate to prevent it. I might just have to accelerate that project.

Again, thank you both so much. I really appreciate it. And I'm sure Norbie will too!

 

[CoriM]

Depending on where the bumble spots are, I can try to get pictures and show you how I wrap my pekin's foot. Do you have one inch vet wrap? That is essential, in my opinion.

 

[Enten4life]

Each foot: